Wednesday, April 1, 2015

California dries up...

Gov. Jerry Brown, standing on a patch of brown grass in the Sierra
Nevada that is usually covered with several feet of snow at this time of
year, on Wednesday announced the first mandatory water restrictions in
California history.
"It's a different world," he said. "We have to act differently."
Brown
was on hand Wednesday as state officials took stock of historically
abysmal levels of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada amid the state's
grinding drought. It was the first time that a governor attended the
measuring event, which has taken place at Lake Tahoe since 1942.
Brown ordered the California Water Resources Control Board to implement
mandatory restrictions to reduce water usage by 25%. The water savings
are expected to amount to 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next
nine months.